TOKYO – Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has won re-election to a third term on July 7, according to an exit poll from public broadcaster NHK. She successfully fended off challenges from dozens of candidates aiming to unseat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)-backed incumbent.
Ms. Koike, 71, secured more than 40 percent of the vote. Mr. Shinji Ishimaru, 41, a former mayor of a town in Hiroshima prefecture, came in second, while Ms. Renho, 56, supported by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), placed third.
A victory for Ms. Koike could provide support for embattled Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has been facing calls from within the LDP to step down amid declining public support due to a political donations scandal.
The LDP has seen a decline in popularity, losing three parliamentary by-elections to the CDPJ in April, as well as the governorship of nearby Shizuoka prefecture, won by opposition-backed candidate Mr. Yasutomo Suzuki. A total of 56 candidates contested the election for the governorship of Japan’s capital, home to 13.5 million people.